May 15, 1999 – Sarah Michelle Gellar / Backstreet Boys (S24 E19)

Segments are rated on a scale of 1-5 stars

GRADUATION MEDLEY
recent car wreck victims Marty & Bobbi perform at high school graduation

— The Culps make their very first cold opening appearance.
— Interesting detail of the Culps’ neckbraces, which we’re eventually told is from a car accident that they go into humorous detail about.
— A laugh from Bobbi Mohan-Culp pronouncing Tommy Hilfiger’s last name as “hil-fye-jer”.
— Marty Culp: “They gave me Tylenol 3, and boy, I keep alternating between wanting to cry and having a violent orgasm.”
— This is the second episode in a row parodying Sugar Ray’s “Every Morning”, after Jimmy’s Weekend Update guitar song medley in the last episode.
— Funny in retrospect hearing Will Ferrell singing Blue Oyster Cult’s “(Don’t Fear) The Reaper” in this, considering a certain legendary sketch involving a cowbell that Will would soon do in the upcoming season 25.
STARS: ***½

MONOLOGUE
host rebuffs CHK, TIM, MOS, WIF, JIF after they each hit on her

— I like Kattan’s line about borrowing mood-enhancing videos from Colin.
— After getting rebuffed by Sarah, I love the little turn with Kattan beginning to ask about a certain Backstreet Boys member, implying that Kattan’s going to try flirting with him next. Between Colin’s gay joke about Kattan in the last episode’s Weekend Update and now this monologue bit, I see SNL is starting to go all in on the already-existing rumors about Kattan’s sexual orientation. At least he has a sense of humor about it.
— Funny turn with Molly slowly starting to hit on Sarah, then using Sarah’s girl-on-girl kiss in the recently-released Cruel Intentions movie as proof that Sarah is into chicks.
— A hilarious quick bit with Sarah IMMEDIATELY shutting down Will’s Hugh Hefner-esque attempt to hit on her.
— At the end of the long line of guys with flowers, I love the camera slowly zooming in on Horatio staring awkwardly into the camera while eating the chocolates he intended to give Sarah.
— While this was a pretty fun monologue overall, it felt like it really wasted Sarah, who’s proven in her last episode to be a very capable host, yet was relegated tonight to the type of monologue that’s usually given to much more generic pretty girl hosts who SNL knows are iffy at live sketch comedy.
STARS: ***½

TIGER BEAT’S ULTRA SUPER DUPER DREAMY LOVE SHOW
teen idols David Boreanaz, Seth Green, Howie D. [real] fear agent (DAH)

— The return of a sketch from Sarah’s last hosting gig.
— When each of the girls are detailing what kind of drink they would buy for their favorite star, I love Ana’s disturbing bit about how she’d buy a bottle of Drano for Neil Patrick Harris so they can both drink it and live in heaven together forever, which is followed by uncomfortable silence between the girls.
— Darrell’s star manager character pales badly in comparison to the one that Norm Macdonald epically played in the last installment of this sketch.
— Seth Green makes his first SNL appearance since appearing in a pre-taped “SNL Newsbreak” (the name for Weekend Update in season 7) segment as an unknown child actor in 1981. (side-by-side comparison between him in 1981 and 1999 below)

— I like the choices of random audio sounds used to cue each segment of this show.
STARS: ***

SPARKS
Zimmermans’ sexcapades trap couple looking to rent a cabin (CHP) & (host)

— “John”? Why’d they change the first name of Kattan’s Zimmermans character to that? It used to be Jack. Hell, at one point in the timeline of this recurring sketch, I think his name is also Josh, though I can’t remember if that’s already happened by this point, or if happens in a later Zimmermans sketch.
— Parnell, after seeing a typical display of the Zimmermans’ raunchy passion: “I see the deer’s not the only one who’s horny in this cabin.”
— The dress rehearsal version of this sketch had a blooper where Kattan accidentally exposed Cheri’s bare breast when mounting her on the wall. A clip of that blooper is reportedly shown in the “dress rehearsal outtakes” feature of either Cheri or Kattan’s “Best Of” DVD, though I’ve never seen the clip for myself.
— During the usual bit with the host starting to aggressively flirt with the Zimmerman member of the opposite sex, I like the sudden turn with it being Cheri who Sarah’s now aggressively flirting with.
— Hilarious bit with Parnell desperately de-pantsing himself to join in on the others’ raunchiness, resulting in Kattan initially mistaking Parnell’s apparently-small penis for a vanilla Tootsie Roll. Kattan’s “OH MY GOD!” outburst when realizing that’s Parnell’s penis absolutely slayed me, as did Sarah asking “That’s what it looks like in the light?!?”
— Overall, a bit better than the usual Zimmermans sketches, due to the whole bit mentioned right above this sentence.
STARS: ***½

GET ON THE BAG!
(WIF)’s exhortations to little leaguer son appall other parents in stands

— Ah, a variation of “Get off the shed”, though it’s kinda weird how they’re doing this THREE YEARS after the season that the “Get off the shed” sketches appeared in. “Get on the bag” is a decent variation, and a good spoof of hostile parents in the stands at children’s sports games.
— A good laugh from how Will’s “snow cone” is a can of beer. I also like Parnell’s line pointing out how Will is drinking beer at 10:30 in the morning.
— Will: “I WILL DOWNSIZE YOUR FACE WITH A SHOVEL IF YOU DON’T GET ON THE BAG!” Until recently, I always thought that great “downsize your face with a shovel” threat was from “Get off the shed”, not this sketch.
— Overall, a funny sketch, but doesn’t compare to the first “Get off the shed” sketch, in my opinion. However, it’s a step up from the second “Get off the shed” sketch, as tonight’s version thankfully didn’t have Christine Baranski grating on my nerves in her poor attempt to imitate Will’s comical screaming.
STARS: ***½

TV FUNHOUSE
“The Ginsburg Gang” by RBS- Lewinsky lawyer show inspired by Scooby Doo

— Funny idea for a Lewinsky scandal-related Scooby Doo parody.
— I like the quick visual gag of William Ginsburg revealing a microphone implanted deep into his chest skin. During that part, a man in SNL’s audience can be heard loudly saying a quick “Ew.”
— This overall cartoon ended up going a little over my head due to being perhaps too topical. However, it seemed well-done, I still got some laughs, and I liked the parody of various Scooby Doo cliches.
— This was rumored at the time to be Robert Smigel’s final TV Funhouse. I’m glad that didn’t end up being the case.
STARS: ***

SHAME ATTACK!
(CHK) & (MOS) embarrass selves & each other in game show

 

— Kattan’s “cool” poser character is making me laugh.
— A crazy, nasty, and silly sketch, but I’m enjoying it, and it’s a pretty fun and spot-on parody of these types of MTV shows from this late 90s era (just watching this parody is kinda bringing me back to my high school years from this era), though I can’t remember if “Shame Attack” is a show just made up for this sketch or if it was a real MTV show at the time.
— After Molly gets covered in slime, some of the performers are having a hard time keeping a straight face while delivering their lines. That’s no surprise in Molly’s case, who’s devolving more and more into a giggly performer as we get closer and closer to the end of her SNL tenure. As I hinted in an earlier review, her frequent giggliness gets even worse the following two seasons.
STARS: ***½

MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “I Want It That Way”

WEEKEND UPDATE
now out of prison, Amy Fisher (CHO) is still edgy & jealous
Billy Dee Williams (TIM) doesn’t like that he’s not in The Phantom Menace

— Colin’s gun control joke (in the wake of the notorious Columbine school shooting tragedy from a month earlier) comes off particularly interesting to watch in retrospect, given the climate nowadays in regards to gun control.
— As usual whenever Cheri appears on Update, we get a flirty interaction between her and Colin at one point.
— I got a pretty good laugh from Cheri’s Amy Fisher sternly asking “Where does she live?” after being told by Colin that he has a girlfriend.
— Tim reprises his Billy Dee Williams impression for the first time since way back in SNL’s early 90s era.
— A great line from Tim’s Billy Dee Williams, about how he gradually realized while watching the new Star Wars movie that he’s not in it.
— A lot of funny comments from Tim’s Billy Dee.
STARS: **½

DUSTY’S LOVE
blind girl (host), monster (HOS), Paul Williams (WIF) in really bad movie

— I love the odd little detail of Parnell having dark hair on his head but a red beard on his face.
— Parnell, on the reason why Sarah is blind: “If only I hadn’t been so drunk and so damn proud of my new flare gun.”
— Another great Parnell line, before he makes his exit: “I’m gonna go have some PCP and show mom my new spirit gun.”
— Very funny inclusion of Will as a superimposed transparent Paul Williams head singing a tender song during Sarah and Horatio’s odd face-touching sequence.
— What a hilariously bizarre and random sketch. By far, one of the strangest sketches SNL has ever done. As I’ve said in an earlier review, this SNL era is great at pulling off this type of random, absurdist humor.
— Freakin’ priceless how the sex scene between Sarah and Horatio is being censored by a “Humping Sequence Edited For Television” disclaimer screen that has a strange-looking photo of a man with his mouth open orgasmically while we hear a voice-over repeatedly singing “Doot doot dooooo”. This already-random sketch is increasingly getting even more random, and I love it.
— Haha, did Parnell’s red beard somehow get longer in the few minutes he was gone? (side-by-side comparison below)

— Solid ending with the TV station voice-over apologizing for letting this bizarre movie slip through.
STARS: ****½

PRESS CONFERENCE
Britney Spears (host) & others answer questions after Kids Choice Awards

— Jimmy’s whole bit as MTV VJ Jesse Camp probably goes over a lot of viewers’ heads nowadays, as I doubt many people today remember Jesse Camp or were ever aware of him to begin with. I remember him enough, and Jimmy’s impression of him is spot-on and perfectly captures what an oddball that guy was.
— Sarah is very funny as Britney Spears.
— The debut of Parnell’s Eminem impression, which I’ve always found funny.
— Even though this is 1999, seeing a Britney Spears and Eminem impression side-by-side makes me feel like I’m already in the 2000s.
STARS: ***½

HOLDING YOUR OWN BOOBS MAGAZINE
host & WIF solicit subscriptions to Holding Your Own Boobs Magazine

— I love the audience’s initial reaction to the surprising opening shot of a topless Sarah Michelle Gellar holding her own boobs.
— Funny concept of a magazine dedicated to holding-your-own-boobs photos, made even funnier by how this sketch is being played so seriously.
— Great inclusion of Will also holding his own “boobs” and proudly displaying photos of famous men doing the same. The Dave Thomas photo is particularly funny.
STARS: ****

MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “All I Have To Give”

BRIAN FELLOW’S SAFARI PLANET
supposed animal expert Brian Fellow doesn’t know much

— Tracy’s Brian Fellow character, who debuted earlier this season in a Weekend Update commentary as a VERY different type of person than who we’re now familiar with, does his very first Safari Planet sketch.
— Much like Wayne’s World and Pumping Up With Hans and Franz (among some others that I can’t remember right now), Brian Fellow’s Safari Planet is on the list of popular recurring sketches that surprisingly debuted in the 10-to-1 slot.
— This 10-to-1 sketch is Tracy’s first and only appearance all night. Sadly, that’s business as usual for the underused Tracy Morgan, but I guess it can be considered somewhat of an honor to star in the final sketch of a season.
— Tracy’s updated characterization of Brian Fellow tonight is a huge improvement over that aforementioned Weekend Update commentary he did. Brian Fellow’s incompetence and oddness throughout this sketch are very funny, and Tracy has a good handle on this character, which would only improve even further over time as this becomes an established recurring sketch.
— I love Brian Fellow’s worries about getting bit by the turtle.
— For some reason, at the end of this sketch, the studio light in the window behind Tracy’s Brian Fellow turns off while he’s delivering his sign-off to the camera.
STARS: ***½

GOODNIGHTS

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IMMEDIATE POST-SHOW THOUGHTS
— A consistently good episode, and a pretty satisfying way for this season to end, officially making this what I feel is a season with a perfect streak of episodes ranging from so-so to fantastic, with no bad episodes in the bunch. While there wasn’t much in tonight’s episode that stood out as particularly great, the show flowed really well and had no sketches that underwhelmed me (unless the Colin Quinn portions of Weekend Update count). Despite a monologue that wasted her, Sarah Michelle Gellar had her moments tonight that showed what a good recurring host she is.

MY PERSONAL CHOICE OF “BEST OF” MOMENTS FOR THIS EPISODE, REPRESENTED WITH SCREENCAPS

HOW THIS EPISODE STACKS UP AGAINST THE PRECEDING ONE (Cuba Gooding Jr.)
about the same

MY PERSONAL CHOICE OF “BEST OF” MOMENTS FOR THIS ENTIRE SEASON, REPRESENTED WITH SCREENCAPS (Note: These picks were hastily made off the top of my head and will naturally be missing some deserving sketches. I don’t have enough time to do full, thought-out “Best Of” picks for this whole season)

HOW THIS OVERALL SEASON STACKS UP AGAINST THE PRECEDING SEASON (1997-98)
a mild step up

My full set of screencaps for this episode is here

TOMORROW
SNL’s milestone 25th season begins, with host Jerry Seinfeld